Customer Reviews

Arkham Asylum

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This is probably the darkest interpretation of Batman ever done, even darker than Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. The artwork is very dark, and Batman's face is never really shown. The story goes back and forth between the story of how the asylum was established and the story of the day that the inmates took over the asylum, until, toward the end, the two events become so well blended that it is virtually impossible to tell them apart.

In "Arkham Asylum," Grant Morrison tells an extremely dark tale of Batman inside the Asylum with his enemies the Joker, Two-Face, The Mad Hatter and others. Batman battles not physically, but mentally, face to face with his own madness in a painted, tortured story. The storyline is sparse, overwhelmed by lunatic painted scrawlings and imagery. Dave McKean's lush macabre images are cinematic, more "Saw" than "Dark Knight." This book truly pushes Batman past anything we've seen before.

I admire Morrison and McKean for this effort, bordering on the lunatic fringe. It is not an especially entertaining read, nor is it as thought provoking as I expected. At times the creative team tries too hard and they go over the. However, if you don't mind three parts crazy, one part Batman mythos, you won't go wrong with this volume.

This book is listed on Amazon as "Batman: Arkham Asylum" by Grant Morrison. It is apparently only available (new) in paperback. Read this book; it is brilliant, beautiful, and perfectly mad.